Posts tagged with 'washington independent'
Weekly Mulch: Politics Confuse Public Perception of Climate Change
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By Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
Americans don’t know what to think about climate change anymore. A few years ago, the public more or less trusted the science that said human activity was raising global temperatures, but now that Congress and the Obama administration have hemmed and hawed about climate issues, we’re not longer so sure.
Forty-eight percent of Americans—more of us than ever before—believe that reports of global warming are “generally exaggerated,” according to a new Gallup poll. Climate science hasn’t changed, so it’s not crazy to look at these numbers and think that conservatives’ incessant critiques of climate change may be working. (more…)
Weekly Pulse: No Public Option: Worse Than Nothing?
By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium Blogger
In search of the elusive, filibuster-proof 60th vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid eviscerated the Senate’s health care reform bill on Tuesday. Potential GOP swing voter Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) confirmed that Reid promised to kill both the public option and the expanded Medicare buy-in, according to Brian Beutler of Talking Points Memo.
Snowe didn’t pledge to support the bill, of course. She didn’t even promise to cooperate on the procedural votes required to pass the bill before Christmas, a deadline that the Obama administration has its heart set on. In other words, Reid gave away the progressive crown jewels of health reform on spec to a senator who cheerfully turned around and continued the Republican stalling strategy. From Snowe’s vantage point, that’s a great move. The longer the bill hangs in limbo, the more Reid will give away.
Former Democrat Joe Lieberman (I-CT) seems determined to kill the bill. Lieberman must be motivated more by a desire to spite liberals than any principled policy stance. He keeps threatening to filibuster policy proposals he once campaigned on, like the Medicare buy-in. Lee Fang of TAPPED notes that Lieberman told the New York Times that he now opposes the buy-in because it’s beloved of lefty single-payer types like Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY); and the policy wonk behind the public option, Prof. Jacob Hacker.
The Women’s Media Center has launched the #UnderTheBus campaign, which calls on supporters to contact their representatives and urge them not to let Lieberman and his close, anti-choice ally Ben Nelson (D-NE) sell out women’s health care for political gain. Nelson has hinted he won’t vote for the bill unless it contains strong abortion funding restrictions.
Stephanie Mencimer reports in Mother Jones that a bunch of teabaggers decided to stage a sit-in to oppose the health bill at Lieberman’s office. Mark Meckler and some Tea Party Patriots showed up at Lieberman’s office and asked to meet with the senator. When they were told he wasn’t available, they all sat down. When they tried that routine at Sen. Barbara Boxer’s office (D-CA), her staff ignored them. Lieberman’s staff called the cops. (Note to teabaggers: Sit-ins are for enemies, not allies.)
The senate bill is so watered down that it wouldn’t even stop insurance companies from capping benefits, as Roger Bybee reports at Working In These Times.
Former congressional candidate Darcy Burner says she’d rather see the bill die than have it pass in its current state.She argues that if health care reform doesn’t curb costs, it’s just a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. She writes in AlterNet:
The fundamental failing of the newest Senate proposal is that it requires individuals to purchase health insurance, but does nothing to rein in what insurance companies charge. There is nothing to stop spiraling health costs from eating up an ever-increasing percentage of our national productivity.
The House bill has two major cost-control mechanisms: the public option and the 85 percent medical-loss ratio requirement. The Senate bill is on track to have neither, and nothing new to replace them. The Senate bill is a recipe for national disaster. If it’s that bill or nothing, I prefer nothing.
Adding insult to injury, the Senate also voted down a bill yesterday that would have made it easier for consumers to purchase cheaper prescription drugs abroad. Mike Lillis of the Washington Independent suggests that the White House was relieved to see the Dorgan-Snowe bill defeated because it would have violated the deal it struck with pharmaceutical companies earlier this year. The drug companies promised up to $80 billion for health care reform if Democratic leaders withheld support for several initiatives that would cut into drug company profits.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about health care by members of The Media Consortium. It is free to reprint. Visit the Pulse for a complete list of articles on health care reform, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment, health care and immigration issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch, and The Diaspora. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of leading independent media outlets.
Weekly Mulch: Countdown to Copenhagen
By Raquel Brown, Media Consortium Blogger
On Wednesday, President Obama pledged to cut U.S. carbon emissions “in the range of” 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. Obama also confirmed that he will attend the international climate conference in Copenhagen next month, as Aaron Wiener notes for the Washington Independent. But here’s the catch: It’s a one-day deal. Obama is only planning to stop by Copenhagen on Dec. 9 before flying to Oslo to accept his Nobel Peace Prize. The climate talks, on the other hand, span Dec. 7 to Dec. 18.
Still, Steve Benen of the Washington Monthly writes that “Obama’s in-person lobbying efforts will give the talks a boost, and signal to the world that the United States intends to lead.” (more…)
Weekly Mulch: Progress for Baucus, Setbacks for Graham
By Raquel Brown, Media Consortium Blogger
For weeks, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) has opposed climate change legislation. In the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, he openly voiced his doubts and was the only Democrat to refrain from voting for the bill’s passage. Now that the bill is in the Finance Committee, which Baucus chairs, many worry that the bill is doomed. However, it looks like Baucus might have outwitted us all. (more…)
Weekly Pulse: Problems for the Public Option
By Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium Blogger
The House released a final version of the health reform bill. It has a public option all right, but not the robust version progressives were hoping for. The public plan would only cover 2% of Americans and premiums will cost more than anticipated.
Meanwhile, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) continued to threaten to join a Republican filibuster of a health care bill with a public option. A lot of people still think he’s bluffing. Realistically, the public option probably faces more serious threats from inside the Democratic caucus. It’s been whittled down at an alarming rate. (more…)
Weekly Diaspora: Legislating Hate
By Nezua, Media Consortium Blogger
Anti-immigration groups and pundits cling to phrases like “Illegal Alien” because they only focus on foreignness and danger. These extreme factions are all about casting immigrants as what ails our society, conjuring up demons upon which to focus national ire, and perpetuating a subhuman category of being. It’s a convenient distraction from things that are actually endangering our nation. A new web-only series from ColorLines called “Torn Apart by Deportation“ is the perfect antidote to people like CNN’s Lou Dobbs. (more…)
Weekly Immigration Wire: DIY Immigration Reform
By Nezua, TMC Mediawire Blogger
Many immigration reform activists feel stymied and frustrated by the Obama Administration’s approach to immigration. Because the administration has not clearly denounced the racially-based violence and sentiment fueled by groups like FAIR and pundits like Lou Dobbs, it appears to be ignoring the individuals in need and siding with the powerful players, like the detention industry, or grossly negligent lawmen like Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
So what can an advocate, activist, or even a conscientious citizen do to make a difference during this period of government inaction? Have hope and take action yourself! As Eric Ward of Alternet writes in “Seven Days to Beat Anti-Immigrant Bigotry,” “You can take a bite out of bigotry in less than five minutes a day!”
Ward’s essay helps replace a potentially overwhelming sense of frustration with concrete, attainable and clearly defined actions. He put it together because a friend wrote him in sheer frustration, and asked him what she could do—without having a whole lot of time on her hands. She works 60 hours a week as a florist, but was determined nonetheless: “I don’t want these bigots to have the last word.”
The Washington Independent’s Daphne Eviatar reports that 521 different civil rights and advocacy groups sent a letter urging the President to “immediately terminate” the infamous 287(g) program, which deputizes local police to carry out federal immigration duties. The program is currently being investigated by the Department of Justice for racial profiling and civil rights violations. This is great news! As we reported in the August 20th Wire, only a few voices were speaking out against postponing immigration reform. Now there are many.
RaceWire reports on the coalition of “immigrant, racial justice and civil rights advocacy groups” that have signed on to the letter, and describes the 287(g) program as a “disturbing hallmark of the Bush administration’s law-and-order approach.” Michelle Chen describes ground zero for 287(g)’s implementation—Arizona’s Maricopa County, where Sheriff Joe Arpaio is at the helm—as a “warzone.”
The letter is a “gauntlet” and a “long overdue test” for the Obama adminstration. Activists and advocates need a sign, Chen writes, that the White House is serious about immigration reform, and not just further incarceration and penalty.
Advocacy groups aren’t the only ones uniting in this struggle, as Alternet makes clear in “Asian Americans Mobilize for Immigration Reform.” Something is different about this moment. “For the first time in the nation’s history,” writes Vivian Po, “Asian American and Pacific Islander [API] groups came together this week to call for comprehensive immigration reform.”
While immigration is often focused on Latinos, “Asian Americans also want to activate their network and become involved,” said Tuyet Duong, senior staff attorney of Asian American Justice Center (AAJC). The campaign used new media such as text-messaging campaigns and Asian American blogs, attracting many younger voters. “This week’s series of collective actions is the beginning of a larger movement for immigration reform,” say API immigrant rights groups.
Last week’s Wire touched on the overlap between health care and immigration reform. One in three Latinos are uninsured, as New America Media’s Odette Keeley reports. Keeley speaks with Pilar Marrero, Political Editor for La Opinion about “the scapegoating of undocumented immigrants during the health care [debate]” and “the possible ramifications of these attacks on the debate for immigration reform.” Of special note are some practical tips for those who have undocumented family members and experience a medical emergency.
While we are discussing physical injury and the uninsured, we should dwell on “The Dark Side of Dairies,” at High Country News. It may as well have been titled “Got Justice?” Rebecca Clarren reports on an immigrant worker who was kicked by a cow while at work, and now has a steel plate in his face. “Gustavo,” a husband and father of three, is afraid to use his own name, but gives a first hand account of the dangers and dark side of helping the U.S. dairy system move.
Unprotected and invisible, the majority of the Western United States’ nearly 50,000 dairy workers are undocumented. But even though workers are killed by “tractor accidents, suffocated by falling hay bales, crushed by charging cows and bulls and asphyxiated by gases from manure lagoons and corn silage,” as Marc Schenker, director of the Western Center for Agricultural Safety and Health puts it, “If you’re undocumented, you won’t complain.”
How can a nation profit and subsist upon the efforts of workers who suffer like this? It’s a skewed, postcolonialist view that lets one group of people profit off the pain of others.
And the U.S. isn’t alone. The American Prospect’s “Chicken Little Goes to Europe” clearly delineates that frame of mind. Stephen Holmes offers a rejoinder to the fears some in Europe have about the growing Muslim population within their borders. The fearmongering there mirrors anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. Simply replace “Muslim” with “Mexican.” Scapegoating immigrants who change the culture to which they contribute is not a new phenomenon. Neither, however, is the ability to rise above these base reflexes and give voice and action to our better natures.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about immigration and is free to reprint. Visit Immigration.NewsLadder.net for a complete list of articles on immigration, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy and health issues, check out Economy.NewsLadder.net and Healthcare.NewsLadder.net. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of 50 leading independent media outlets, and was created by NewsLadder.
Weekly Immigration Wire: 287(g) Makes Hard Times Harder
By Nezua, TMC Mediawire Blogger
The number of undocumented immigrants coming into the U.S. is plunging, as The Washington Independent’s Daphne Eviatar reports. And yet, the White House is still ramping up harsh detainment measures like 287(g), which is already linked to abusive practices. If Obama continues to fall back on harsh stopgap measures and leaves comprehensive immigration reform for next year, he greatly increases the risk that it won’t pass at all.
Some are inclined to give the President a degree of lenience, considering the great challenges facing the nation. After all, shouldn’t Obama prioritize the legal citizens? That kind of thinking is problematic. When human beings in our midst are abused, their citizenship is a moot point. The United States’ most revered documents, such as the Bill of Rights, recognize this truth by noting the existence of inalienable rights. These rights must be vociferously defended, especially when the most vulnerable are deprived of them.
But as RaceWire accounts, a new report reveals that “[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] (ICE) agents routinely violate constitutional guarantees by illegally entering homes using physical force, seizing upon innocent people” and target people based “solely on their race.” One would think this would be quite a teachable moment, but the White House has been silent so far. ICE projects 400,000 arrests next year.
Sojourners reveals how the 287(g) program plays out in places like Guilford County, North Carolina. Immigration opponents are in a fury, and families are terrified of being locked up or bearing the brunt of that anger in some other way. Unfortunately, “such images and stories are becoming commonplace” in the towns where 287(g) is enacted. And it gets worse. Families go without medical care and suffer. Crimes are committed on a vulnerable population that fears reporting crimes to police in case of deportation. “As we await substantive immigration reform, what kind of community do we want to be,” asks author Julie Peoples.
Do we want to be a community that covers the uninsured? Do we want to be a community that covers the uninsured but not the undocumented? Even when “it’s simply more expensive to do nothing?” Are we comfortable deporting a man paralyzed with brain damage for being poor? In even the most optimistic of current proposals for healthcare reform, “universal” clearly does not mean “human.”
Some ethnic communities face higher risks of certain disease. Asian Pacific immigrants (API) “face serious health disparities,” according to New America Media’s Sara Sadhwani. As Sadhwani notes, “South Asians and Pacific Islanders face high rates of chronic disease such as diabetes and heart disease.” And yet the API community—legal immigrants with green cards, in this context—would be ineligable for federally funded public benefits for a five-year waiting period, according to current healthcare proposals.
But what about those who are neglected by the current immigration dialogue? WireTap’s Nina Jacinto says we must make this dialogue representative of the queer undocumented who do not fit the “heteronormative framework” of the conventional narrative. “Queer immigration reform activism must also contend with the relationship that exists between immigration reform and the preservation and uniting of family,” writes Jacinto. While she concedes the strategic value of employing a heteronormative, family-focused framework in current U.S. culture, one unfortunate result of the “broken family” narrative is that the marginalized continue to be left out of the conversation, and are even further shut out.
Finally, both Racewire and Wiretap make the case that everyone should be counted for the 2010 census. It’s a controversial argument for a couple reasons. While many lawmakers, as well as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, promote participation, many do not. The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, an immigrants rights group, hopes to use a boycott threat to leverage fairer treatment and legislation for the immigrant community. Also urging a boycott are hate groups like the Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Center for Immigration Studies. But no irony in the latter cases; these factions subscribe to the notion that a person’s moral worth is dependent on pieces of paper. No surprise they want to keep the undocumented uncounted!
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about immigration. Visit Immigration.NewsLadder.net for a complete list of articles on immigration, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy and health issues, check out Economy.NewsLadder.net and Healthcare.NewsLadder.net. This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of 50 leading independent media outlets, and was created by NewsLadder.
Weekly Mulch: The Pros and Cons of the Climate Bill
by Raquel Brown, TMC MediaWire Blogger
The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), also known as the Waxman-Markey bill, narrowly passed in the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of June. The ACES bill seeks to mitigate climate change via emission reductions, investments in energy technology, creation of clean energy jobs, and rigid standards for energy efficiency. Check out Grist for a valuable breakdown of the act.
ACES is far from perfect and required many concessions to pass. But did lawmakers compromise too much? The climate bill is getting mixed reactions: Proponents feel that ACES holds historical and environmental significance as the first legislation designed to combat global warming, whereas critics think the bill is little more than a “massive energy tax.”
Businesses dislike the bill’s stringent greenhouse gas regulations, but many environmentalists are concerned that the bill is too watered down. As Dara Colwell writes for AlterNet, the carbon offsets proposed in the ACES bill are largely unsuccessful in other countries. The European Union instituted a similar program five years ago, and according to the Wall Street Journal, European emissions actually grew 1 per cent each year under the program. A straight carbon tax, rather than cap-and-trade, would yield more positive results, increasing transparency and helping us taper off coal.
And what do right wing skeptics have to say about all this hoopla? As Grist’s Kate Sheppard reports, Republicans were highly critical of the bill, denouncing its ability to spur any economic growth. Remember Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla), who famously called global warming “the greatest hoax perpetuated on mankind?” Meanwhile, Democrats have praised the bill’s economic potential.
Focusing on the bigger picture, Colin Beavan at Yes! Magazine argues that ACES’ flaws are worth overlooking. As one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, the U.S. needs to set an example by committing to fight climate change. Failing to do so before December’s U.N. conference in Copenhagen would be an unwise political move. Additionally, the ACES bill is the last opportunity to pass any climate or energy legislation before 2010’s midterm elections.
As ACES moves to the Senate, legislators are grappling with the bill’s many imperfections. According to Aaron Wiener of The Washington Independent, Democrats are prepared to strengthen the bill’s provisions as they push the legislation forward, but many Republicans argue that the bill won’t survive because of the current economic crisis.
Even though many felt the final bill leaves something to be desired, ACES does include key equity provisions, thanks to Green For All’s (GFA) campaigning. As GFA Youth Organizer Julia H. Rhee writes for RaceWire:
With over 3.8 million youth, ages 18-24, neither in school or jobs, it’s clear we have to provide better opportunities to engage our young people. Particularly for youth of color who have been locked out of the education process and won’t follow a traditional 4-year college path, we need viable alternatives to the streets. We need to scale up healthy, career-track jobs that will allow our youth to advance and not be left behind.
This provision will mean that as green job contracts come down the pipe, quality standards will ensure they are good jobs, and local hiring practices will make them available to low-income local communities.
This post features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about the environment. Visit Sustain.NewsLadder.net for a complete list of articles on the environment and sustainability, or follow us on Twitter. And for the best progressive reporting on critical economy, health, and immigration issues, check out Economy.NewsLadder.net, Healthcare.NewsLadder.net and Immigration.newsladder.net, This is a project of The Media Consortium, a network of 50 leading independent media outlets, and was created by NewsLadder.
Kicking the Wall Street Habit
As Barack Obama readies himself to lead the United States through what appears to be a scathing recession, he faces a choice between feeding the political sphere’s Wall Street addiction and investing in economic progress. Two key former Clinton cabinet officials could determine which course he takes.
It was more than a little startling to hear a U.S. leader who sounded like (gasp!) an economist at the president-elect’s first press conference last week, after years of Bush speeches that treated economic policy as a realm defined exclusively by tax cuts and bailouts. But without policy specifics, we still do not know which voices of the many men and women flanking Obama at the event will impact the next administration’s economic platform. Mother Jones notes that several of the names included on the list of Obama’s economic advisers represent schools of thought that brought us directly to the current crisis. Two of the alleged experts, former Clinton Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, signed off on major financial deregulatory moves in the latter half of the Clinton years. The two sided often with former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on policies that included a refusal to place government oversight on the credit derivatives market, which eventually ballooned into the $60 trillion quagmire that destroyed AIG in September (who got another $40 billion from taxpayers on Monday).
Summers has successfully sparked controversy on several occasions, and while some of the scandals haven’t received a fair hearing in the court of public opinion, others are of genuine concern. In 2005, Summers said he believed innate inferiorities were more responsible for the under-representation of women in science and engineering fields than either discrimination or socialization. Writing for the Women’s Media Center, Veronica Arreola demonstrates how advancing gender equality would improve the broader U.S. economy, and expresses well-founded doubts about Summers’ commitment to Obama’s campaign pledge to implement equal pay for equal work legislation. (more…)